Regulations Implementing the California Law Enforcement Accountability Reform Act (AB 655)

Proposal

The Department of Justice (Department) proposes to adopt sections 999.300-9999.314 of Title 11, Division 1, Chapter 20, of the California Code of Regulations concerning the California Law Enforcement Accountability Reform Act, Assembly Bill 655 (2022), codified at Penal Code sections 13680-13683 (“AB 655”), which took effect on January 1, 2023, and was amended effective January 1, 2024.

Notice Register Publication Date: January 24, 2025.

Status of the Proposal: The rulemaking is complete. On March 3, 2026, the Office of Administrative Law approved the regulations and filed them with the Secretary of State. The regulations become effective on July 1, 2026.

Rulemaking Documents

Final Rulemaking Documents:

• OAL Approval Letter
• Final Text of Proposed Regulations
• Final Statement of Reasons (FSOR)
• Updated Informative Digest

2nd Supplemental 15-Day Comment Period Documents:

• Notice of Second Modifications to Text of Proposed Regulations
• Text of Second Modified Proposed Regulations

Supplemental 15-Day Comment Period Documents:

• Notice of Modifications to Text of Proposed Regulations, pdf
• Proposed 15-Day Modifications, pdf
• Addendum to Initial Statement of Reasons, pdf

Initial 45-Day Comment Period Documents:

• Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
• Text of Proposed Regulations
• Initial Statement of Reasons
• Economic and Fiscal Impact Statement (STD 399)
• STD 399 Attachment
• Tips for Making Effective Comments

NOTE: Regulation documents prepared by the Department may contain markup including underline, strikethrough, or highlight. While these documents are ADA-compliant, upon request, the Department can prepare a more screen reader-friendly version of these documents with annotations that explain the marked changes. Please submit all requests to regulations@doj.ca.gov.

Summary

Summary of Existing Laws and Regulations:

AB 655 identifies three categories of misconduct by peace officers that, if sustained after an investigation and adjudication of complaints regarding this misconduct, will result in their termination: membership in a hate group, participation in hate group activity, and public expressions of hate (together, "Covered Misconduct"). (Pen. Code, § 13682; see also, id., § 13680, subds. (d), (e), (g).) The categories of misconduct are defined in AB 655 and are narrow in scope. For example, a "hate group" is an organization that supports, advocates for, threatens or practices genocide or the commission of "hate crimes," a term that is defined in another California statute, Penal Code section 422.55. Likewise, a "public expression of hate" is also defined in the statute and refers to a statement made to another, including in an online forum, that explicitly advocates, threatens, or supports the commission of a hate crime or genocide or explicitly advocates for or supports a hate group.

Public agencies are required to determine whether any candidate for a peace officer position has engaged in such Covered Misconduct during the previous seven years and since 18 years of age, and to deny employment if so. (Pen. Code, § 13681, subds. (a), (b).) Likewise, if a public agency receives a complaint that one of its peace officers has engaged in Covered Misconduct, the agency must investigate, or cause to be investigated by an appropriate oversight agency, the complaint and, where a sustained finding of misconduct is reached, must terminate the peace officer's appointment as a peace officer. (Pen. Code, § 13682, subds. (a), (b).) Records of investigations pursuant to the statute that result in a sustained finding of misconduct are exempted from certain existing confidentiality protections. (Pen. Code, § 13683.)

The Department is directed to "promulgate guidelines for the investigation and adjudication of a complaint" that "alleges, with sufficient particularity to investigate the matter, that a peace officer" has engaged in Covered Misconduct, whether such complaint is internal or received from the public. (Pen. Code, § 13682, subds. (a), (c).)

In fulfilling its obligation to promulgate such regulations, the Department must ensure that affected agencies are provided with clear rules to facilitate the acceptance of complaints in all forms, the effective and efficient investigation of such complaints, and their fair adjudication. In so doing, the Department must balance the statute's interest in promoting effective, efficient, and timely investigation and resolution of covered misconduct with the need to protect due process interests and avoid undue burden on affected agencies.

Effect of the Proposed Rulemaking:

The proposed regulations establish rules for the investigation and adjudication of complaints involving the specific conduct addressed by AB 655 – namely, membership in hate groups, participation in hate group activity, and public expressions of hate, as those concepts are defined in the statute.

With respect to investigations, the proposed regulations establish uniform standards for the receipt of both public and internal complaints, the initial evaluation of complaints to determine whether they are governed by the statute, and the conduct of investigations. These rules will ensure that investigations are conducted effectively and are able to address the unique needs of the cases governed by AB 655. With respect to adjudications, the proposed regulations establish uniform standards for evaluation of evidence, with the aims of ensuring that investigation subjects receive due process and that agencies fully consider evidence collected during investigations.